The Ancient Relics

Escaping

Esther was alone in the dark place. She was struggling to hold on to Nova. She took some careful steps, hearing the squishing of tar as she did. Esther could feel herself slowly sink into the ground, and she knew that sooner or later, she was going to be covered completely. She started wading through the thick, black substance. The lantern, which she supposed used to light the place, was now moving in all directions, casting shadows all over the place. Moving alone was hard enough, but moving with a person trying to escape was impossible.

“Okay Nova. I need you to do me a favor. Please snap out of whatever trance you are in. I can’t go on like that,” she said, looking into Nova’s dull eyes.

Nothing. Esther needed to hurry or she too would sink. She tried thinking of anything that might force Nova to remember, and that is when it clicked in.

“We are friends Nova, can’t you remember. Autumn, the girl that you hit with your bicycle the first day of school,” she said, remembering what Autumn had told her about it, “Faith, the girl with sarcasm issues, and me, the bookworm. You are the reason we are here Nova, and trust me, none of us regret it. We share something stronger than any curse around this place, friendship.”

Esther could see a hint of recognition flicker in Nova’s eyes, but it quickly disappeared. Esther looked down to find both her legs completely sunken. She couldn’t walk now. Nova seemed unaffected by the tar ; she was standing on the ground like it was made of solid rock. Once a few minutes had passed, only Esther’s head was visible above the tar. Finally, she completely sunk into the thick, suffocating blackness. 

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The gem in Autumn’s hand glowed bright purple, and immediately all the tar that surrounded her minutes ago, disappeared. She gasped as soon as her head hit the surface. The gem stopped glowing and all the tar seemed to retreat away from Autumn till she was standing on the liquid surface of the streets.

“Bearer of the Fearful Relic, you are now one of us.” A sound echoed in Autumn’s head. She needed to get out of here and tell her friends that she found the relic and that it is hers to command now. She started walking back to where she thought she came from, only to find more blackness. Just as she was about to think she was going in circles, she caught sight of a green glow, which she assumed was Nova’s Forgetting Relic. She quickly ran to where she was. 

“Nova? Where are the others,” she quickly asked.

She didn’t really expect an answer, but she hoped that Nova would miraculously regain her senses. 

“Esther….she is down...there,” Nova replied, pointing to a black void before blacking out. Autumn caught her before she hit the ground. Esther! She had to get her out of there. When she kneeled near the void, the tar moved away, revealing a pale looking Esther. She took a huge breath and sighed in relief. Then she looked around her and saw Autumn. Esther quickly grabbed Autumn and hugged her tightly.

“I thought you were gone,” she whispered.

“You will have to do better than that to get rid of me. Where are Faith and Nash,” Autumn asked when she realized both were nowhere in sight.

“Oh boy, they are still out there with the flaming, sticky balls.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about, but I think it is a bad thing so we should rescue them.”

“How are we going to get out of here?”

“I am now bonded with the Fearful Relic and clearly that makes the tar fear me.”

“That is amazing! I would love to see anything other than this blackness.”

“Just help me carry Nova so we three can leave this doomed place.”

Esther got up and quickly held Nova’s arms while Autumn held her legs. They walked slowly, Nova’s body swaying between them. When they were outside, they saw something that made their stomachs flip. There was a long thick line of tar that was moving in circles and tied to it was…...Nash. 

“You finally came! Please get me out of this nauseating cycle,” he screamed as he went round and round with the string.

“Where is Faith,” Esther asked in alarm.

“She is safe. NOW GET ME DOWN,” Nash screamed again.

Autumn quickly placed Nova on the ground and ran to where the string started forming, which was a ball of mixing shades of black and gray. Automatically, the ball disappeared and so did the string. Nash flew from up high and landed on the tarry building, which cushioned his fall a bit. 

“Next time you do that, please find a softer spot for me to land,” he complained as he jumped from the forming top of the building. 

“I can assure you, there will be no next time. Now where is Faith,” Autumn asked.

“She is over there,” he said, pointing to a small figure that was lying unconscious 

“Did you do that,” Esther said worryingly.

“It was either that or she would have wandered around aimlessly,” Nash replied.

“She is going to be so mad when she wakes up,” Autumn said after she finished examining Faith.

Esther nodded as Nash’s face changed from green to pale. 

“Just don’t tell her I did it,” he told both of the girls.

“We might think about that,” Esther said mischievously as Autumn smiled. 

The three of them sat down, taking their breaths and resting a little till the others woke up. What they didn’t know was that the two girls weren’t the only ones that were about to awake.

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The creature’s eyes popped open and it sat up vertically. It is true it needed all the relics to regain full control, but four were enough to make it reach half of its strength. 

It clicked its tongue as it summoned figures of shadows. It needed to find the three other relics before the others. It is only then when it will truly be unstoppable.